GREYHOUND RACING – November 20th – Sandown Park, Melbourne Australia

SHOW #26

The richest Greyhound Race on the planet is The Melbourne Cup. The winner walks off with a staggering $ 420,000. Not bad for a night’s work and around 30 seconds worth of sprinting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GREYHOUND RACING – July 13th – The Meadows, Maturity Classic Heats

It had to happen. It was never going to be long before I ended up in Broadmeadows with nothing else better to do on a Saturday night. An evening at The Meadows isn’t regularly featured in many Lonely Planet guides and it’s definitely no MCG or Federation Square. The sport is generally seen as more of a northern pursuit in the UK, and more working class than a mullet in a VN Commodore (or Escort XR3i for UK readers) in Australia.

It was a non-descript meeting, at a non-descript track in a far from non-descript suburb on a far from non-descript occasion. As stag do’s go, what more could you ask for? A cheap buffet, unlimited “free” beers, races every 15 minutes and best of all, the 4th day of the cricket on the big screen! Now apparently, The Meadows is one of the world’s most forward thinking and unique greyhound racing venues, with facilities to match. It is the home of the Australian Cup and boasts a reputation of providing first class racing, hospitality and service for any occasion – according to its own website anyway!

The Meadows is one of the world’s most forward thinking and unique greyhound racing associations, with facilities to match.
The Meadows is the home of the Australian Cup and boasts a reputation of providing first class racing, hospitality and service for any occasion. – See more at: http://www.themeadows.org.au/#sthash.sOgxU3vk.dpuf

It is cheap; I’m not sure if its cheerful, but all in all it’s quite a fun way to spend an evening. What’s more, is that you are not expected to get dressed up for the evening. A night at the dogs can be quite enjoyable if you go with a group of likeminded individuals that are there for the same reason – to get pissed and have a good laugh and perhaps a punt or twenty. To go by yourself is just plain weird!

We put some betting theories to the test with moderate success, but when 10 out the 12 races were won by fairly short priced favourites, we were never going to become the next Kerry Packer; more like Del-Boy and Rodney.

I was genuinely surprised by the lack of people there. I know the weather was bad, but the general viewing area couldn’t have had more than a 50 people there. There was only one course bookie, which sums up today’s gambling industry I suppose. The appealing aspect of heading to the track is watching the ever changing odds clicked over by the bookies, and playing the game where you think you are going to get the very best odds offered across the board – the challenge of beating the system is half the fun – even before the damn doggie has even run!

There were however 200+ diners in the plusher upstairs environment. The food was quite respectable to be fair, and the free beer was not a contributor in my assessment – honest! The restaurant does offer a great overhead view of the track and it was also warm and dry, which was very different to what it was outside on Saturday night!

The evening was not without its own excitement though. When the hare takes off, there is that air of anticipation around and the noise the trap doors make when then fly open, is unique in sport. As the 32 paws pound the sand past the winning post the first time round, the speed is quite phenomenal – the dogs have been known to hit 70km/h! The fact that once on the track, the dish-lickers can do absolutely anything, and very little is in anyone or anything else’s control. As there is no jockey to control them, they have a tendency to bounce around off each other, jump over each other, knock each other over (regularly!), or turn sideways for no apparent reason. They have no comprehension of stamina or conserving energy – they just go as fast as they can for as long as they can and hope that they stay upright and straight all the way to the finish line.

There are cheers of encouragement from the punters in the crowd whose hard-earned is riding on the back of these unpredictable flea taxis. Names are forgotten as the dogs simply become numbers or colours. As the dogs hit the line in a blur of fur, there are yelps of approval from the locals (the non-furry ones) and groans of what could have been. A win can mask many losses, but as long as you keep within your limits there’s no harm done.

As one of the biggest investors in the evening we managed to wangle our way into presenting the trophy to one of the winners. Our race was this one:

MASTERFOODS MATURITY HT 6 (525m)

1. (1) DYNA NALIN $ 2.00/$ 1.20

2. (8) DARK WARRIOR $ 1.50

3. (4) RED HOT MILLIONS $ 3.40

It was a fun night. It was definitely affordable and the racing was there to serve a purpose. I can truly say that no-one went home disappointed and it was a great way to spend a night out with a load of mates. If only they did a curry night????? I don’t think it’s a date night option though, unless you’re from Broadmeadows that is – then it’s a first date, second date and marriage reception venue all in one!

Number of Events	TBC
Number of Sports	TBC
Gigs (Bands: Headlines + Support)	TBC